Political Participation among First- and Second-Generation 
Chinese Immigrants in the Netherlands

Chinese immigrants are a unique minority group in the Netherlands considering their living conditions and cultural background, whereas they are under-investigated due to the small population as well as relatively higher socioeconomic status compared with other ethnic minorities. This research aims to explore the political participation among first- and second-generation Chinese immigrants with emphasis on their level of education, the impact of cultural context which they are socialized into, as well as the perception of being “model minorities”. Based on ten respondents in total, the research findings demonstrate a low level of political participation among both first- and second-generation Chinese immigrants; whereas the explanations on non-participation of the two generations are of vast difference. While cultural influences and language barrier are the biggest reasons that stop the first generation being active in politics, socialization effects mainly account for the non-participation of the second generation.